Through the Linking Panel
by Naigahsehn
Summary: This is my story  of a boy and a girl  Hannah and Kaz  who, after finding an odd book, are transported into another world, and into an adventure unlike any they've faced. A little romance, possible mild violence later on. R&R please.
1. Chapter 1: Where is here?

**Chapter 1: Where Is Here?**

A whirring buzz deafens my ears as I gaze in utmost horror as my body - my very fiber and being - slowly dematerializes before my awe-stricken eyes. In moments, I feel a sickening lurch into nothingness, and then - blank. My mind is snuffed out; all my thoughts, my senses - gone. And then, after what felt like only a brief lapse of time, I was standing alone…somewhere. I looked myself over quickly in a panicked state, until I realize that I was entirely there and totally myself. I heave a great sigh of relief. Then, stricken by curiosity, I decide to find out just exactly where _here_ was.

I take a few steps forward, and get a good look-over of my surroundings. I am on a ledge. A rocky ledge, overlooking a vast, wide-open valley - I could discern a hazy, shimmering blue expanse - a sea perhaps? - far on the horizon, and tall, snow-capped mountains fringing the remainder of my sight. A river winds like a slithering, gold serpent across the valley.

Just then, something catches my attention - a strange sort of humming sound - like the one I heard when I touched the glowing panel of that odd book I'd found, just before I 'appeared' here.

I turn just in time to see the air shimmer, and then expand, and then - as if from nowhere - a young woman appears. She looks terrified, her face very pale.

"Hannah? What are you doing here?"

She seems not to have heard me; I ask her again. And again, no response. Finally, she snaps back to reality - with an ear-piercing scream.

"What.. Who? Where am I! How did I get here?". She sees me. "Kaz? How-"

"I don't know. I found this odd book in a pawn shop downtown yesterday, and when I was looking through it I found this page - there was a glowing picture…I touched it just for a second to see what it was, and then - I was here."

She stands beside me now, and embraces me. "I came to see you, and I saw that same book just lying on your study. I was curious, so I…well, you know. And now-"

"We're here."

"But where exactly is here?" That was a very good question - but I didn't have the answer to it. I was just as stumped as she was.

"Haven't a clue. I guess we'll have to find some way to get home - maybe there are some people here that can help."

"Let's hope so."


	2. Chapter 2: Under the Stars

**Chapter Two: Under The Stars**

Hannah and I make our way down the steep, rocky incline that separated us from the open plain nearly two miles below. It was fast becoming a hard and grueling task. When we made it to another, large outcropping of rock, there was still another half-mile to the base. The sun had began to dip beyond the mountains, and the entire valley soon became veiled in shadow.

"Kaz, I'm tired; I think we should just spend the night here on this ledge."

I look around, and nod in agreement. "One problem though: we don't have any supplies. No food, water, blankets - anything. And we don't know what the weather's like around here - it could get really cold."

She frowns. "I almost forgot about that." Then, in a sort of uneasy tone, she continues, "What are we going to do?"

I stop, and puzzle about our predicament. Then, it comes to me.

"What if we look out over the valley and see if there are any lights? If there are lights, then there are people - which means food, and water, and a warm bed?"

"That might work! Oh, I hope there's people here…"

So the two of us look out over the valley, and search for any sign of light or inhabitation. After about an hour, after the sun had completely set and the stars were alight, did Hannah see something.

"Kaz! Oh my god, I see something! There's lights, over there! We're saved!"

I give a second look, and I see them too - there are lights! And there seems to be a few more of them in moments.

"It must be a village - the lights are all ruddy red - like fires."

Excitement dawning upon us, we clamber down the steep rock slope, and soon find ourselves in a grassy field - ahead of us are dark silhouettes of copses, and in the distance, the location of the fires.

We run - taking short breaks to catch our breath - until we reach the edge of a large copse of trees which stands near the river. And beyond that…

"We're almost there! Just a little - AEEEE!"

"Kazuki!"

I trip over a large, unearthed root, right into a small pit. My body aches all over. Slowly, I pull myself up, and beat off the dirt from my clothes.

"Are you all right?" called Hannah from above.

"Yeah, I think so. Can you help me out of here?"

"Here - give me your hand." I pass her my hand, and she begins to pull. I dig my feet into the soil walls of the pit, and in the end, I am out. We lay there together, exhausted from the day's events. She was smiling, and I couldn't help but smile too. We just lay there, looking up at all those brightly glittering, alien stars. I almost completely forgot that we are far, far from home.


	3. Chapter 3: The Village Welcome

**Chapter 3: The Village Welcome**

Our journey to the fires continues - and I was careful not to trip or fall into any more pits again. Hannah seems to have dropped most of her anxiety, but I can tell that she was worried that she may never make it back home - we are both worried.

The river seems to be a big hassle - it is too broad and far too murky to tell whether it is deep or not. And the current seems to be running a little _too_ fast. So, we are stuck having to trudge along the riverbank and hope to find some means of crossing the river.

We discover a ford where the water shallows, and many rocks can be seen glistening wetly under the light of the full moon which hangs low in the sky.

Our feet are sopping wet when we stepped out onto the adjacent shore. The lights are much closer now - but we had veered a little too far to the left, and they were hidden behind a copse of trees, so we have to sort of backtrack until we spot them again.

"Kaz, do you think that they're…nice…people?"

I stop. I'd left that thought out of my mind, but now it came over me like a storm surge over a levy.

"Sure - why wouldn't they be?" I say to placate her as much as myself.

"Well, okay - I hope you're right."

"_Yeah, me too_" I think silently to myself.

The lights are only a few kilometers ahead of us now. Hannah becomes ecstatic, and breaks into a run. Then I hear it - a sharp, crackling noise from one of the copses of trees to my right.

"Hannah, look out!"

But it was too late - she dropped to the ground, limp and unconscious. I ran to her side, but then I felt a sharp prick in my neck, and my hand went for the spot, feeling a small, feathered dart. My vision blurs, and my mouth and mind go numb. I fall on the spot, and see a figure walk towards me from out of the shadows before I too collapse into utter nothingness.

So much for a village welcome.

When I come too, I find myself in a bed of straw; the walls of this room are made of a strange, soft material - a stone of some kind? - and a lamp not far from where I lay lights the entire room with a soft, golden brilliance. Beside me, on the floor, is an earthenware plate with some sort of meat roll, a piece of unleavened bread, and some steaming soup in a gourd-like vessel.

I started up, but then a wave of pain shot up my side and back, and I cringed. I must of let out a whimper, because an woman - must've been forty, her raven-black hair mixed with grey, wrinkled forehead and bags under the eyes - though it had a certain quality to it as if it had been a very beautiful face upon a time - and pale eyes. Her skin had a weathered look to it, and was colored a deep tan. She came to my side, speaking in some guttural tongue I could not comprehend. She must have seen my confusion, for she tilts her head questioningly, perturbed. She lifts the plate of food up from the floor and onto my lap, pointing at it as she says something in her language. But I got the meaning of that message quite clearly this time: she wants me to eat.

I look from her to my plate, then back to her, before I hungrily attack the succulent-looking food. She smiles, and gives a sort of chuckle.

When I was finished, I still felt very hungry. I look to her again, and she seems to know what I want, quickly snatching up the plate, heading for the small kitchen (as everything was in a single, round room), returning in moments with a full plate. I lick my lips, and joyfully eat the platter clean once more.

Maybe this isn't such a bad place after all.

I just hope that Hannah was doing alright as well.

Hannah lay in a bed like Kazuki's, in a room similarly designed. The walls were made of the same soft yet cold, stone-like material, and food was set out beside her bed just as it was for Kazuki. But Hannah was still under the effect of the toxin, and had not yet woken up. Her caretaker - a patient young woman with raven-black hair which hung loosely over her left side - sat beside her, watching her closely, worried. "When will this young one wake?" she said. "The dart's poison should have worn off by now."

All the while Hannah lay there, drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness.

I was feeling well enough this morning to get out of bed. The old woman who cared for me leads me outside after breakfast, and I have my first look at the village.

A dozen or so crudely made huts - shaped like hives - lie scattered about a large clearing. They are all made of that same, soft-feeling stone. But I notice that there is a bend in the river nearby, and men are working there - they are drudging up clay and mud, and then passing it down the line to other workers who shape them and dry them into bricks. So that's what the material is - it's adobe!

Some men smile and wave at me and the old woman, and as we walk down the dusty path, a group of young women who had been doing something in one of the huts had come outside to greet me. They are all very pretty, and all of them speak in that guttural language I cannot understand. Another girl meets us, and she doesn't seem happy. She looks to me, and mentions something to the old woman; her face turns grave, and she pats me on the shoulder and walks off back towards her home.

I'm confused: what was going on?

The young woman takes me by the hand, and leads me on to another hut. We step inside, and I notice how warm and dark it is inside. I give a glancing look around the room, and by breath is caught.

In a bed, on the far end of the hut, is Hannah.

"She no well," a highly accented, feminine voice says.

I turn quickly and see that the woman who brought me here was looking at me, almost waiting for a response.

"You…you speak my language?"

She nodded. "I am one few who can."

"What's wrong with my friend?"

"Poisons not yet worn off - she still sleep."

"What can we do?" I reply, anxiety welling up inside me as I speak.

"Only wait."


	4. Chapter 4: Only A Dream?

**Chapter 4: Only A Dream?**

"Where am I?" Hannah asked.

"You are here," said a voice.

"But-"

"You have traveled far, little one, and you are very strong. But the power of the poison has left you in a deep sleep."

She was puzzled. "What poison?"

"When you and your friend arrived here, our hunters had been out - they were afraid, and darted you with a poison; it's only meant to be temporary, but for some strange reason you have not yet woken up. Your friend has, however. At the moment, he's kneeling at your bedside - he's very worried. As is the young girl who has been caring for you."

Hannah started to cry.

"How do you know all of this? Who are you?"

There was a pause. Then the voice rang out: "I am the Maker."

Hannah, of course, was still baffled.

"Perhaps you will know me by another name? I am god and creator of all worlds, and giver of life; my name is Yahvo."

"What was going on? Was this really happening?" Hannah thought to herself.

The voice seemed to brighten. "Yes, Hannah, it is."

"This is starting to get too weird," said. "Am I going to wake up?"

"Yes."

"When?"

There was silence.

"You will find a book - like the one which brought you here. Use it. Ask for the help of Yeesha - she will know what to do." Then, to answer her question: "You wake NOW!"

I held Hannah's hand, stroking it gently. "Please, Hannah, wake up…please wake up."

I close my eyes, as tears begin to fall. The girl - Nika - watches on only feet behind me.

Moments pass, and Nika squeals. I look up and see Hannah gazing into my eyes, a faint, tired smile slowly crossing her face. "Hey you."

"Hannah! You're okay!" She lifts her arms up, and I bend over her and we embrace one another. She pecks me on the cheek, but it doesn't concern me - I'm too overwhelmed with joy that she's well. But she kisses me again, and this time I feel something…different. Then she kisses me once more, and this time I return her affection. My mind becomes pleasantly numb as her and I release our emotions and feelings for one another in that single, long, and loving kiss.

My mind is numb; my heart, racing. I think I love her. I look deeply into her bright, brown eyes - and in that look I reveal my feelings for her, and she does the same.

"Kaz I-"

"Hannah."

She smiles. I smile back. We embrace each other again.

Nika is laughing. We release and turn to see her - such a warm, happy expression she gives in that laugh.

"You two in love? That so sweet." she says, tears of laughter streaming down her face.

The two of us break into laughter too, and the three of us joyfully stir up a ruckus of noise until we grew tired. We talk for a while.

Hannah says her thanks to Nika for all that she's done. I tell her that I was very worried, but she says she already knew. Confused, I asked her how?

"When I was out, I had…a dream."

"A dream? What kind of dream?"

"Well, I was alone in a dark field - I was floating. But it wasn't my body, it was more like just my mind was there - in that sea of emptiness. It was horrible, and lonely."

Nika and I were very interested in what would happen next. "Go on."

"Well, I stayed alone for quite a while - it seemed like a small eternity - until I was suddenly not alone. There was something else there with me - another presence. It wasn't cold and dark like the rest of that place - it was warm, and brilliant, and colorful. It spoke to me in a deep, powerful voice."

"What did voice say?" Nika asks.

"He said that I was unconscious because I had been drugged with a tipped dart by some men of a village. He said that I had not woken up yet, and that it was odd. He said that Kaz was beside me aching with worry, and that a young woman - you, Nika - had been caring for me."

Nika and I stared in awe as Hannah continued.

"But that wasn't all. He called himself "The Maker" - he told me that we'd find a book - you know, like the one that brought us here, Kaz? - and that in the other place we'd have to seek help from someone named "Yeesha". Then he said I'd wake, and I did."

I am startled, and Nika seems lost in thought.

"Are you sure voice called self 'The Maker'?"

Hannah nods.

"Then you be seen vision - vision of great Maker!" Nika exclaims. "Oh you very special girl - very special."

"Why? It was just a dream…wasn't it?"

"Yeah, that's all it was." I say.

But Nika was unconvinced. "I will tell elders of this tonight, and bring you to see book tomorrow - sleep tonight." And then Nika leaves in a hurry, leaving Hannah and I to ponder over what's happened.


End file.
